Looking for a Roller Coaster Lawn Ornament (kind of?)

[Gordon Bombay]

Hi everyone,

For those of you that don't know, I run a website dedicated to urban exploration, photography and history throughout the midwestern United States - particularly Cincinnati. Recently, I posted an article about an abandoned restaurant in Waynesville, Ohio that another photographer and I went to visit (The "Der Dutchman). After sharing a link to the story on our site's Facebook page, longtime friend and KIC "old timer," zosobeast, shared something he had seen in the nearby area awhile ago:

Apparently while driving with some friends, he had seen a property that had an old roller coaster station and partial lift hill on its lawn. He wasn't sure which coaster it had once belonged to and they didn't double back to check it out, but he is positive he knew what it was. They came across it after eating at Der Dutchman (the abandoned restaurant featured in our latest article) and thinks it's nearby. The restaurant was in Waynesville, Ohio - northern Warren County.

If anyone has any idea of what he's talking about, we'd love to find the owners and contact them to maybe do a story and uncover some amusement park history. If you have any tips or info, we'd greatly appreciate it!

For some more details and some of our work on abandoned amusement parks, you can visit the site here: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2014/06/in-search-of-partial-roller-coaster-in.html

Thanks!

[Creed Bratton]

If you find out, let me know! I would like to see it!

[Magenta Lizard]

It's a shame about Der Dutchman burning. It used to be a really good restaurant, one my family would occasionally drive an hour to eat at when I was younger. Unfortunately the quality really suffered under the company that bought it prior to it burning. Since that time, there have been attempts to buy the property by locals interested in reopening, but the current owners want too much (and are disinclined to rebuild and reopen themselves). So it sits.

I live not far at all from Waynesville now, and the area around it is one of the places my husband and I like to go for drives. Unfortunately, this is not something I've ever encountered. The most interesting thing I've seen near there is a covered bridge.

Do you have any idea how long ago it was?

I could probably go for a drive around there sometime soon and see if I see anything.

[Tuskin]

I was dating a girl from the outskirts of Waynesville not too long ago, and also never saw such a thing. I am, however, extremely intrigued now to find out where this is.

[Magenta Lizard]

I've been thinking about this. I wonder if what the guy saw WAS the covered bridge. The road it is on is an offshoot from another road, and if you pass through the bridge, the road drops down a hill in a winding path. I can imagine how someone seeing it briefly may think it was in someone's yard, and that it was a roller coaster station (which frankly often resemble covered bridges, being open on either end for similar reasons).

The only thing I wonder about is that unless they were sightseeing, I can't imagine why someone would be on the road that runs perpendicular to the bridge. For the past few years (at least, ever since I've been aware of it) a section of the road is closed just down from the bridge, making a dead end.

[Gordon Bombay]

It's a shame about Der Dutchman burning. It used to be a really good restaurant, one my family would occasionally drive an hour to eat at when I was younger. Unfortunately the quality really suffered under the company that bought it prior to it burning. Since that time, there have been attempts to buy the property by locals interested in reopening, but the current owners want too much (and are disinclined to rebuild and reopen themselves). So it sits.

I live not far at all from Waynesville now, and the area around it is one of the places my husband and I like to go for drives. Unfortunately, this is not something I've ever encountered. The most interesting thing I've seen near there is a covered bridge.

Do you have any idea how long ago it was?

I could probably go for a drive around there sometime soon and see if I see anything.

Thanks for sharing some insight about the Dutchman! I'm not sure how long ago Bill saw it, but I don't think it was the covered bridge. he's pretty certain that this was built on someone's property, much like a lawn ornament.

If we ever find out, I'll be sure to let people here know!